Trellis



Dec. 8, 1931,.

A. V. ROWE TRELLIS Filed April 29, 1929 Patented Dec. 8, 1931 ALVIN v.ROWE, or GALnsBn-Re; ILLINoIsQAssI GnoR ItowE ninnnnac'rnmneCOMPANY,.OE1GALESBURG,ILLINOIS,=.A-COBPQRATIQN OF ILLINOIS ERELLIS f 1mme sing April 29,";19293 seriainolssa'ra i.

My invention relates generally "to trellis constructions andparticularly to ornamentaltrellisworkof the fanftype.

Fantypes'fof trellis constructions necessi tate the flexing or bowing ofaplurality of ribs and means must be provided to'maintain these ribsor'membersin'pro-per spaced relation. It is one. of the primary'objectsofin'y present invention'ito provide an ini provedmeans of simple anddurable construction for maintaining these ribs or resilient members inspaced relation; V

More specifically,"my invention contem plates the provision of a trellisconstruction having a spreader or spacer which may be convenientlyapplied tothe're's'ilient members or ribs of the trellis and which is sodesigned as to positively preclude the possibility of weakening the ribsat the point where said spreader means is applied.

It is also an obJect of my present invention to provide a'spreaderdevice which will not necessitate the penetration, puncturing ordisfigurement of said ribs and to this end I propose to frictionallyengage the inner opposed surfaces of the ribs and therebyretain saidspreader in position.

Still another object of my present invention is to provide improvedtrellis work of the fan or spread type which will present a compact bulkfor shipment and which may be very easily and quickly assembled for use.

These and numerous other objects and ad.-

vantages will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionwhenconsid .ered in connection with the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a front elevational View of an ornamental fan trelliswhichis representative of one embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective :viewof the lowerportion ofthe trellis shown in'Figure 1 to more clearly disclose theapplication of the spreader memher; and

Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of the spreader, the same beingshown detached from the trellis ribs.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail wherein like numerals havebeen emthe apertures- 18 and the sections 20 extending therebetween,I'provide the spreader with a forcement on opposite sides of the ribs soas to .maintain the outer or lateralsurfaces of .the

ployed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, itwill be observed that my inventionrelates particularly to fan trellisgenerally by the numeral 10. This trellis comprises a body or'basesection 12 and formed .integral withthis .base section is a pluralityof'resilient ribs 14; .In manufacturingthe devices, these ribs areformed by merely slitting. the portion of the wooden strip which forms acontinuation of the base i 12. After the materialhasbeenslit so as topresent the plurality of adj acently positioned ribs 14 these ribsmustbe flexed or bowed'outwardly from the center. a a

In. order-to maintain the spread or flexed position of the ribs. 14 1:provide a spreader member which is indicated generally by the numeral16. This spreader member 16 may beformed' of any suitable material suchas sheet metal; A plurality of spaced apertures l8 areprovided whichare-designed to receive the ribs 14. The spacing of the apertures18 willbe determined bytherposition which the spreader memberjis to occupy uponthe ribs In this particular instance I have disclosed the spreader in aposition approxi mating the lower extremities of the ribs and hence thespacing is muchless than it would be if thespreaderwereto be used at apoint longitudinally of the ribs. In addition to pair ofiflangesl22.FAThese flanges 22 provide aneifective' means .for preventingdisplacement ofthje ribstransversely of thespreader.

ln-other words, the flanges provide a 'reinribscoplanar. Thus, byusing-a spreader. of my improved construction, the trellis ribs 'maybeuniformly spread or bowed and at the same time said ribs may besecured-against placement.

lateral displacement so as to prevent unsightly lateral distortion.

My improved spreader should be clearly distinguished from means Whichhave heretofore been employed to maintain the ribs 1n spaced or spreadrelation. It has heretofore been the practice in some instances tospread the ribs of a fan trellis by securing a stripor slat to one sideof the ribs by means of nails and the like. In view of the fact that theribs are comparatively narrow, aardtl-iat the grain in the woodfrequently vanes, the use of.

nails or other means for penetrating the rib material not only serves toWeaken the material at that point but in many instances causes crackingand breaking -of the ribs. Attention is directed to the fact that myimproved construction eliminates 'the necessity 'of using any auxiliarysecuring devices and particularly such "devices which have 'a tendencyto Weaken 'the rib structure. It is alsoto be noted that my spreaderdevice rigidly supports the ribs at the front and rear thereof asdistinguished from devices heretofore employed which havenecessitatedthe use ofauxil-iary fasteningineans applied at'only *oneside of-the ribs. Ubviously, in-sucharrangemerits there is a tendencyfor the unsupported side to become distorted, thereby causing the upperportion of the fan structure to be curved laterally so as to destroy thedesired coplanar arrangement. Across the top of the ribs 14 I secure asuitable spacer. bar. 24 and intermediate this spacer bar 24 and thespacer 16 I :provide as many spacer bars as may be desired.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that my invention contemplatesthe .provision of an improved trellis construction in which the ribsarenot weakened as the result of the application thereto of a:spa'c'er'bar. My improved spreader may be very conveniently appliedafter the ribs have been formed in the board, by merely inserting theextremities of the 'ribs into 'theirnrespective companion apertures 18.Thefrictiona l engagement bet-ween the edges of the sections 20 and theinner surfaces of the'ribs 14 serves toqpositive-ly retain the spreaderin position and likewise the engagement of the flanges 22 With the outersurfaces of the ribs cooperates to retain the spreader in .position andto secure the ribs against lateraldis- Through the agency. rof theflanges 22, the ribs are provided with equal support on both sides andhence the possibility of any "lateral displacement thereof is I claim asnew and desire to secure by Let- "ters Patent is A. spreader f'or itheb'as'e a fan trellis, said device being formed from flat metallic stockand including a central Web portion,

said \veb ,portion being provided With a plurahty' of spacednon-circular apertures which completely traverse, said webr-and areadapted to receiveltrellis members having a non-circular cross sectioncorresponding in shape toisaida'p'ertures, and side sectionsextending-along the oppositely disposed margins ofsai'd Web section, thelines determiningcthe upper margins of said sides being -:substantially.coincident with the outermost extremities of said apertures, whereby toenable substantiallyfthe entire inner surfaces of said side sections tofrictionally bear against the adjacent surfaces :of trellis memberspositioned therebe tweenand thereby. secure said trellis .membersagainstlateral and rotative displacement.

; In Witness whereof,l have hereunto subscribed my nam ALVIN V. ROWE.

prevented. No portion ofthe Wooden structure is penetrated -or in-anyway disfigured so as to cause the same to become weakened and saidspreader may 'be applied to the ribs construction is providedivhi'ch maybe con-

